https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/sup...d9104dedea835d
Melbourne Storm linked with Mulhern, he may not have signed for anyone as yet.
We could do worse than Kane Evans who’s being linked with Cas.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/sup...d9104dedea835d
Melbourne Storm linked with Mulhern, he may not have signed for anyone as yet.
We could do worse than Kane Evans who’s being linked with Cas.
I'm sure the club have this sorted, and understand we need a big in-pact guy to replace Luke. I'm sure Matty will come through to support Alex eventually, but we do need a top experienced prop going forward ( no pun intended).
COYS
I do feel like swapping Thompson and Amor/ Paulo for A Fifata and Mulhern is probably a slight net gain. Walmsley and Lees working alongside them is still quite a prospect and another year of LMS/ Ashworth whilst we find the next one off the production line covers injuries.
Bentley and Knowles should be nailed next year in backrower spots, but as much as I like Taia I think another years likely a year too far, and what we do about Peyroux is a puzzle to me.
He is on a big contract, I can't find details on the latest one but his 2014 contract was worth £400k a year and I would guess that his latest one is bigger.
Yes he is Tongan but he is signed up until 2022 and the Sharks have said they are not looking to offload, with rumours of him going to the Titans.
We need to manage our expectations, Kane Evans is more realistic.
I could agree with you but then we would both be wrong.
I agree. The reality we have to confront is we won't replace Thompson with a like-for-like signing. Some people just see a big bloke in the NRL and think they can do a job; like 'if they play NRL then they must be good' but the reality is Evans track record is underwhelming. He's spent the last couple of years in and out of the first team, and was recently bemoaning that he didn't foresee having many years left in his body. Why anyone in the right mind would advocate this signing when we've been down a similar road with Perry is barmy.
Depends what type of player you want as well, Thompson is pretty unique. I don’t think we’ll find a like for like replacement for him in the NRL because the game is so different over there. I’m not sure we’ll find a like for like anywhere to be honest.
Ashworth is a strange one for me, he’s got some really good attributes in terms of his acceleration and size but he still looks like a centre playing at prop to me, technically he’s still got some work to do. But, if Saints can fine tune his game a bit between now and the end of the season, we’ll have Walmsley, Lees, Ashworth and LMS who are all ‘run hard and straight type players’ and we might want to balance that up by signing more of a ball playing forward to offer something a bit different. If Ashworth doesn’t improve to that level then we’ll need someone who can offer more of an impact running wise.
Steve Prescott MBE (1973-2013)
V
Yes we are not going to "replace" Thompson, that is just not possible. You also can't get a player from the NRL that is at the top of his game, they are too expensive and if they are in the SOO picture they will never leave.
In they end, as the OP stated, we have multiple players to replace. Thompson/Amor/LMS/Peyroux/Taia could all theoretically leave at the end of the year. The first task is to re-sign a few of them to spread the blow over two years then find a good spread of players to replace them. A quality NRL player, a good UK based prospect and a Polynesian power house would be as good a spread as could be expected.
Another option would be to re-sign some our former players, there are a few floating about the league. Greenwood/Jones/Savelio/Ashurst/Dixon are all still about, some are better/more available than others but you feel that one of them on the correct contract could do a job for us.
I could agree with you but then we would both be wrong.
OK I am going to throw this out here. He is a back rower so doesn't solve the Thompson/Amor problem but could be a good swap for Peyroux/LMS/Taia, what about Matt Whitley.
He is off contract at the end of the year and has been off the radar a bit so he won't demand a big money deal. He is a talented player that is probably under rated in the public's eyes at present. He could be a shrewd pick up.
I could agree with you but then we would both be wrong.
He plays in the NRL. He must be good!
Seriously though its not just the financial clout of the NRL clubs, its also the relative weakness of the pound that is weakening the position of SL clubs to sign quality imports. In the early 2000's the pound was trading at $3, its now about 1.9 and has been lower in the past, a big difference.
I'd rather us throw money into developing the game in the community and brining more Luke Thompson's through the junior setups than •••• it away on garbage like Kane Evans.
James Tamou?
Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.